Career and Education Opportunities for Title Examiners in Houston, Texas

For those living in the Houston, Texas area, there are many career and education opportunities for title examiners. Currently, 8,600 people work as title examiners in Texas. This is expected to grow 5% to 9,030 people by 2016. This is better than the national trend for title examiners, which sees this job pool shrinking by about 0.7% over the next eight years. In general, title examiners search real estate records, examine titles, or summarize pertinent legal or insurance details for a variety of purposes.

The income of a title examiner is about $18 per hour or $38,870 per year on average in Texas. In the U.S. as a whole, their income is about $18 hourly or $38,300 yearly on average. Compared with people working in the overall category of Administration and Support, people working as title examiners in Texas earn less. They earn less than people working in the overall category of Administration and Support nationally. Jobs in this field include: office manager, abstract writer, and title supervisor.

The Houston area is home to eighty-one schools of higher education, including seven within twenty-five miles of Houston where you can get a degree as a title examiner. Given that the most common education level for title examiners is a high school diploma or GED, you can expect to spend only a short time training to become a title examiner if you already have a high school diploma.

CAREER DESCRIPTION: Title Examiner

Title Examiner video from the State of New Jersey Dept. of Labor and Workforce Development

In general, title examiners search real estate records, examine titles, or summarize pertinent legal or insurance details for a variety of purposes. They also may compile lists of mortgages, contracts, and other instruments pertaining to titles by searching public and private records for law firms, real estate agencies, or title insurance companies.

Title examiners examine documentation such as mortgages and agreements in order to confirm factors such as properties' legal descriptions or restrictions. They also copy or summarize recorded documents, such as mortgages and contracts, that affect property titles. Equally important, title examiners have to read search requests so as to ascertain types of title evidence required and to obtain descriptions of properties and names of involved parties. They are often called upon to ready reports describing any title encumbrances encountered during searching efforts, and outlining actions needed to clear titles. They are expected to obtain maps or drawings delineating properties from company title plants and/or assessors' offices. Finally, title examiners enter into recordkeeping systems appropriate data needed to generate new title records or update existing ones.

Every day, title examiners are expected to be able to read and understand documents and reports. They need to articulate ideas and problems.

It is important for title examiners to verify accuracy and completeness of land-related documents accepted for registration; ready rejection notices when documents are not acceptable. They are often called upon to direct efforts of staff who search records and examine titles, assigning and evaluating work, and providing technical guidance as needed. They also summarize pertinent legal or insurance details, or sections of statutes or case law from reference books so that they can be used in examinations, or as proofs or ready reference. They are sometimes expected to retrieve and examine real estate closing files for accuracy and to insure that data included is recorded and executed in line with regulations. Somewhat less frequently, title examiners are also expected to assess fees pertaining to registration of property-related documents.

Title examiners sometimes are asked to ready and issue title commitments and title insurance policies on the basis of data compiled from title searches. They also have to be able to ready real estate closing statements, utilizing knowledge and expertise in real estate procedures And finally, they sometimes have to decide on whether land-related documents can be registered under the relevant legislation such as the Land Titles Act.

Like many other jobs, title examiners must be thorough and dependable and be reliable.

Similar jobs with educational opportunities in Houston include:

Administrative Law Judge. Conduct hearings to decide or recommend decisions on claims concerning government programs or other government-related matters and prepare decisions. Determine penalties or the existence and the amount of liability, or recommend the acceptance or rejection of claims, or compromise settlements.

Arbitrator. Facilitate negotiation and conflict resolution through dialogue. Resolve conflicts outside of the court system by mutual consent of parties involved.

Court Reporter. Use verbatim methods and equipment to capture, store, and transcribe pretrial and trial proceedings or other information. Includes stenocaptioners who operate computerized stenographic captioning equipment to provide captions of live or prerecorded broadcasts for hearing-impaired viewers.

Judge. Arbitrate, advise, or administer justice in a court of law. May sentence defendant in criminal cases according to government statutes. May determine liability of defendant in civil cases. May issue marriage licenses and perform wedding ceremonies.

Legal Assistant. Assist lawyers by researching legal precedent, investigating facts, or preparing legal documents. Conduct research to support a legal proceeding, to formulate a defense, or to initiate legal action.

Paralegal. Assist lawyers or judges by researching or preparing legal documents. May meet with clients or assist lawyers and judges in court.

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES: Title Examiner Training

Center for Advanced Legal Studies - Houston, TX

Center for Advanced Legal Studies, 3910 Kirby Ste 200, Houston, TX 77098-4151. Center for Advanced Legal Studies is a small school located in Houston, Texas. It is a private for-profit school with primarily 4-year or above programs. It has 160 students and an admission rate of 50%. Center for Advanced Legal Studies has an associate's degree and a postbaccalaureate certificate program in Legal Assistant/Paralegal which graduated seventy-seven and sixty-two students respectively in 2008.

University of Houston-Clear Lake - Houston, TX

University of Houston-Clear Lake, 2700 Bay Area Blvd, Houston, TX 77058-1098. University of Houston-Clear Lake is a medium sized university located in Houston, Texas. It is a public school with primarily 4-year or above programs and has 7,638 students. University of Houston-Clear Lake has a bachelor's degree program in Legal Assistant/Paralegal which graduated ten students in 2008.

Alvin Community College - Alvin, TX

Alvin Community College, 3110 Mustang Rd, Alvin, TX 77511-4898. Alvin Community College is a small college located in Alvin, Texas. It is a public school with primarily 2-year programs and has 4,386 students. Alvin Community College has a less than one year and an associate's degree program in Legal Assistant/Paralegal which graduated twelve and ten students respectively in 2008.

San Jacinto Community College - Pasadena, TX

San Jacinto Community College, 8060 Spencer Hwy, Pasadena, TX 77501-2007. San Jacinto Community College is a large college located in Pasadena, Texas. It is a public school with primarily 2-year programs and has 24,677 students. San Jacinto Community College has an associate's degree program in Legal Assistant/Paralegal which graduated fifteen students in 2008.

Lone Star College System - The Woodlands, TX

Lone Star College System, 5000 Research Forest Drive, The Woodlands, TX 77381-4399. Lone Star College System is a large college located in The Woodlands, Texas. It is a public school with primarily 2-year programs and has 41,331 students. Lone Star College System has less than one year, one to two year, and associate's degree programs in Legal Assistant/Paralegal which graduated zero, thirteen, and fifteen students respectively in 2008.

Houston Community College System - Houston, TX

Houston Community College System, 3100 Main Street, Houston, TX 77266-7517. Houston Community College System is a large college located in Houston, Texas. It is a public school with primarily 2-year programs and has 48,087 students. Houston Community College System has less than one year, one to two year, and associate's degree programs in Legal Assistant/Paralegal which graduated zero, seventeen, and twenty-five students respectively in 2008.

Lee College - Baytown, TX

Lee College, 511 S Whiting, Baytown, TX 77520. Lee College is a medium sized college located in Baytown, Texas. It is a public school with primarily 2-year programs and has 5,968 students. Lee College has an associate's degree program in Legal Assistant/Paralegal which graduated sixteen students in 2008.

LOCATION INFORMATION: Houston, Texas

Houston, Texas photo by Hequals2henry

Houston is located in Harris County, Texas. It has a population of over 2,242,193, which has grown by 14.8% in the past ten years. The cost of living index in Houston, 89, is well below the national average. New single-family homes in Houston are valued at $173,500 on average, which is near the state average. In 2008, 3,684 new homes were constructed in Houston, down from 6,035 the previous year.

The top three industries for women in Houston are health care, educational services, and accommodation and food services. For men, it is construction, professional, scientific, and technical services, and administrative and support and waste management services. The average commute to work is about 27 minutes. More than 27.0% of Houston residents have a bachelor's degree, which is higher than the state average. The percentage of residents with a graduate degree, 9.7%, is higher than the state average.

The unemployment rate in Houston is 8.0%, which is less than Texas's average of 8.1%.

The percentage of Houston residents that are affiliated with a religious congregation, 50.4%, is more than the national average but less than the state average. El Buen Pastor United Methodist Church, 34th Temple Church of God in Christ and Pentecostal Church of God in Christ are some of the churches located in Houston. The largest religious groups are the Catholic Church, the Southern Baptist Convention and the United Methodist Church.

Houston is home to the Champion Rod and Gun Club and the Independence Heights Residential Historic District as well as Hermann Park and Hennessey Park. Shopping centers in the area include Windsor Plaza Shopping Center, Meyerland Plaza Shopping Center and Meyerland Shopping Center. Visitors to Houston can choose from Capital Inn, Bradford Homesuites - Houston Galleria and Best Western Fountainview Inn and Suites for temporary stays in the area.